From a physical profile perspective, Miroslav Holinka is definitely more ideal than the other forward prospects in this tier of Toronto Maple Leafs prospects. At 6’1” and 185 lbs, the Czech forward was one of my sneaky dark horses of the draft and put up some gaudy offensive numbers for HC Oceláři Třinec’s U20 team.
I had Holinka ranked 121st overall in my final draft rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft, which ended up being a whole 30 picks higher than where he wound up going. Holinka currently remains unsigned by the Leafs but he had a particularly strong showing at development camp that highlighted a lot of the great aspects of his game. There’s a real chance that Toronto stole one of the better-value picks of the draft here.
I don’t like to attribute draft strategies to GMs, I tend to believe that the head scouts have most of the say and that the GM takes the options provided and simply makes the final decision. Looking back at Wes Clark’s post-draft presser this year, however, and his subsequent jump to join Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh, it seems apparent that Toronto’s draft philosophy is shifting slightly under Brad Teliving.
In past years it would’ve been almost a given for Toronto to take a swing on an Alex Zetterberg, Mac Swanson or Tomas Galvas in the seventh round. Instead, the Leafs seemingly took a page out of their 1970s playbook and took hulking defencemen Matt Lahey and Nathan Mayes. While Holinka isn’t huge by any means, he’s certainly one of the taller and bigger forwards Toronto has drafted in the past few years.
Holinka’s 2023–24 Season
Holinka is one of the oldest players in this year’s draft class as a late 2005 birthday. He put up some eye-popping offensive numbers in the Czech U20 league, especially come playoff time, where he was arguably HC Oceláři Třinec’s best player.
The interesting case for Holinka is that he really struggled for offence in the men’s league upon call-up, which is probably part of what kept his draft stock low. Most Czech players drafted in the first or second round over the last few years usually played a few warm-up games in the U20 league in their DY and then graduated to a full-time role in the men’s league right after. Even with lower production, they tended to at least stick around all season, including the playoffs. Holinka instead, was sent back down after just 16 games with the parent club.
You can see Holinka as a blend of the Brad Treliving influence and the Wes Clark/Kyle Dubas vein of thinking in some ways. Dubas would’ve almost certainly stayed away from drafting an older player with minimal pro-league success. The only prominent example is our fourth-ranked Leafs prospect Nikita Grebyonkin.
However, strong showings in the second half of the year and the playoffs clearly are still a factor the Leafs value. Think about Fraser Minten, other under-the-radar prospect Nick Moldenhauer, and Easton Cowan in prior years, and Ben Danford in this year’s most recent draft class.
I’m particularly excited for Holinka, whose technical ability on the puck as a chance creator for himself is extremely unique for this Leafs prospect pool. There isn’t a prospect in the system (outside of Cowan of course) who can offer that skillset and I think that’s something to keep an eye out for in this upcoming season.
Strengths
Holinka is already one of the “toolsiest” players in the Leafs system.
He’s got very soft hands and possesses an NHL frame. He’s got a flair to his game and especially in his U20 showings, had a real confidence in attacking defenders one-on-one with pace and his stickhandling.
He showed some intriguing power as well, where he realized that he was big and strong enough to shield the puck and make more dedicated efforts to attack the net. While this skillset is very welcome to a Leafs system that seems to consist of either undersized buzz-saw type players or primary playmakers, it’s also a huge part of why his game suffered at the men’s level.
While Holinka’s motor can be inconsistent, for the most part, he’s a really hardworking player. He has above-average skating at his size and he will use that to get in on the forecheck and hound defenders. He’s not a player who actively invites contact, but he plays strong on his skates and generally doesn’t get moved super easily.
Off the puck, Holinka shows some great instincts. He finds the quiet spaces in the trapezoid, where he was able to score a lot of his goals this past season (look at his opening goal at Leafs development camp this year off the feed from Danford). Some of the greatest goal scorers in the League have this ability in their arsenal. It gives me real hope at the prospect of him being an option as a net-front presence, screening goalies, banging in pucks in front of the net, and tipping pucks off of point shots.
Weaknesses
Big areas of weakness for Holinka are decision-making and passing vision.
If he can learn to utilize his teammates more effectively and find the right pass instead of trying to shoehorn his way through defenders, it will drastically change his potential offensively. The hope is he’ll realize that by using his teammates as options and allowing them to be more dangerous, it’ll open up the ice for him when he wants to attack.
If he can become an above-average passer, there’s a potential offensive third-line creator here for Toronto, who can legitimately drive his line. If he’s unable to find that next gear, he’ll top out as a big body who can get in on the forecheck but really frustrate you, and his linemates, on a shift-to-shift basis by killing plays with his lack of awareness and composure on the puck.
Player comps and looking ahead
I’m excited to see what Holinka this year in a new league can do. The WHL’s high-scoring, high pace game will fit his playstyle really well. The Edmonton Oil Kings probably won’t be a very good team, so there’s a chance being one of the better offensive forwards on the team will allow him the freedom to improve on the glaring weaknesses in his game. He should get top six ice time and potentially even power play time.
In terms of a potential NHL player comparison, I can see a lot of Brandon Saad in him. Saad is a perfect example of a player whose work rate, skating, size, individual skill and net-front presence allowed him to carve out an NHL role even though the playmaking never really came to fruition. We should also pay much closer attention to Team Czechia at the WJC this winter, as Holinka should be one of the shoe-ins for that roster.
Conclusion
Of all the under-the-radar Leafs prospects, Holinka might be the most exciting.
His combo of size and skill are crazy intriguing, and he already looks to be a bit of a find for Toronto just months after the draft.
A breakout WHL season is in the cards, and if it happens, watch for Holinka to skyrocket up prospect rankings. Just know, we had it first.
